The New York Giants signed journeyman quarterback Drew Lock this past offseason so he could serve as their primary backup behind starter Daniel Jones ahead of 2023 undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito.
Thus, some were understandably surprised when it was learned Monday that head coach Brian Daboll was turning to DeVito over Lock for Sunday’s game between the 2-8 Giants and 4-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Daboll later explained his mindset regarding the move.
“The spark that Tommy gave not just the offense but the team last year I think is important,” Daboll said, as shared by Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. “That’s the reason why we’re going with Tommy. We felt like this was the necessary move for us.”
DeVito was never supposed to see the field as a first-year pro but was called into action last fall after Jones and then-backup Tyrod Taylor suffered injuries. The New Jersey native went 3-1 across his first four starts but then endured back-to-back defeats before he was demoted. In total, DeVito completed 114-of-178 passes (64 percent) for 1,101 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions to go along with 195 rushing yards and a score on 36 attempts.
The Giants are currently ranked last in the NFL with an average of 15.6 points scored per game. Sitting Jones now when he’s healthy will make it easier for New York to escape his contract during the upcoming offseason.
“We’re obviously not playing the way any of us want to play,” Daboll said on Monday. “We felt like this was a decision that we needed to make here and try to spark things, change things up. We just felt like this was the best thing for us.”
Spotrac co-founder and editor Michael Ginnitti suggested Daboll’s decision to play DeVito is at least somewhat related to the nature of Lock’s contract.
